There is a clear and distinct connection between God’s love and God’s law; they co-exist. Our testimony as believers is rooted in how we both reconcile and live out both love and law. It’s recursive: the law shows us our utter helplessness to be holy, His love provided our salvation, and our appropriate response is to meditate and speak on the law while proclaiming His love through actions. It should be no surprise that James wrote that faith without works is dead (James 2:17).
We study the Word so that we may have answers to our questions and for those who question us (regardless of their motives). Keeping the law is worked out by our lived experiences and our words (2 Timothy 2:15, 4:2; James 1:22). The more we study the law, the more we understand the depth of God’s love for us, and the quicker we are to see His hand at work in whatever situation we find ourselves. We are able to speak the truth in love when we begin by lifting our hands to God’s commandments and meditating on His statutes.
I wrote in the margin of my Bible, “Love led to salvation. Law leads to answers. Both should be proclaimed without hesitation or shame. It is Lord in whom we live and breathe and have our being (Acts 17:28). It is the Lord Christ whom we serve (Colossians 3:23). His law is perfect (Psalm 19:7) and His love never fails (1 Corinthians 13: 1-13).
Defaulting to Grace 